Double Blessing
by Heavenly Pearl
Summary: When Jean-Jacques and Isabella got married, they couldn't wait to start a family. Almost six years later, however, they remain childless until a fateful trip to a Chinese orphanage during the 2022 Beijing Olympics inspires them to take a different road to parenthood.


Double Blessing

"Bella, I'm home!" JJ called out as soon as he stepped through the front door. "What's this about a surp—?"

Isabella, leaning against the back of the couch with her phone to her ear, signaled him to be quiet. "Sorry about that, Lucy," she said, turning her attention back to the call. "My husband just got home. What were you saying?"

_Lucy._ There was only one Lucy they were acquainted with – Lucy Chen, their coordinator from the adoption agency. As quietly as possible, JJ set his skate gear down by the door and took a seat on the couch as he listened in on the call. Only being able to hear one side of the conversation was frustrating, especially when Isabella's responses were mostly "Yes"es and "No"s and "Could you repeat that?"s, but from the smile on her face, he had a feeling it was good news.

He hoped it was good news.

Over seven months had passed since they completed the required paperwork and home study. Lucy had warned them that it might take at least a year, maybe even longer, before they were matched, but JJ had to confess he was growing impatient, wondering every time the phone rang if this was finally going to be the call that changed their lives forever.

They had been waiting so long to become parents – almost six years since their wedding day. Neither of them had ever expected the path to parenthood to be so difficult. They were both young and in good health. There was no reason to believe it would be hard for Isabella to get pregnant, yet month after month, year after year, their hearts broke with every negative pregnancy test she took. Even the fertility specialists they consulted could offer no real explanation for why they couldn't conceive after ruling out all the usual causes, calling it "unexplained infertility".

They had almost given up hope of ever having a child when JJ finally achieved his lifelong dream of winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China. While there, he and Isabella had visited a local orphanage to pass out the avalanche of plush toys his fans had tossed out on the ice as he usually did after a competition. Charity work had always been a huge part of his life, a vocation instilled in him by his parents from a young age, and children's charities were especially dear to his heart. The kids had loved meeting a gold medal-winning Olympian, but the visit had left an even bigger impression on JJ.

Even if God never blessed them with a biological child of their own, that didn't mean they could never become parents. There were so many children in the world without a family to love and care for them, especially those with special needs. The visit to the orphanage had opened his eyes to the idea of adoption, and the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that it was something he wanted– no, needed – to do.

As soon as they returned to Toronto after the Olympic festivities had ended, JJ had broached the topic with Isabella. He had expected some hesitation on her part, but she loved the idea as well, only taking a couple of days to seriously consider his proposal before agreeing to go through with it. Though they briefly considered domestic adoption, in the end, they both knew they wanted to adopt from China – Isabella's ancestral homeland and the country where JJ's Olympic dream came true.

"Well? Don't keep me in suspense!" JJ pleaded as soon as his wife ended the call.

"We've been matched," Isabella said. "We're going to adopt a child, JJ!"

His heart bursting with happiness, JJ jumped from his seat and swooped a laughing Isabella in his arms, twirling her around a couple of times before setting her feet back on the floor. "Tell me everything. A boy? Or a girl?" Though China was one of the few countries that allowed prospective parents to choose the gender of the child they wished to adopt, he and Isabella had stated no preference for either.

"A girl. Her name is Lixue, written with the characters for 'beautiful snow', and she just turned three in January."

JJ tried out the name, his pronunciation close to perfect despite his thick French-Canadian accent. He wasn't fluent in Mandarin Chinese, but years of interacting with the paternal side of Isabella's family and a few college courses had given him a rudimentary understanding of the language. "Lixue… Lixue Leroy…"

A little alliterative, but considering his own formal first name was Jean-Jacques, that didn't bother him at all. She could have her own "LL Style"! Besides, how appropriate was a name meaning "beautiful snow" for the daughter of a figure skater? They had already agreed when they first considered adopting from China that they wouldn't change the child's given name, only adding a saint's name as a middle. Lixue would have enough to adjust to, moving to a new country and learning new languages – JJ hoped she would pick up at least some of his native Quebecois in addition to English – without changing her name as well.

"What else?"

Taking JJ's hand, Isabella led them back to the couch, where they both sat back down. "Lixue does have some health problems," she said, which didn't surprise JJ. They had known that was a strong possibility right from the start. "She has a heart condition and has already had a couple of surgeries, but otherwise, Lucy says she's a bright, happy child."

"When do we get to meet her?" JJ was half-ready to jump on the next plane to China.

"Next month. You'll have to miss the last couple of stops on Stars on Ice, though."

He shook his head, not even having to think about it. "Doesn't matter." He hated the thought of disappointing the audience, but Lixue was more important than a skating tour. His fans would understand when they found out the reason why he had to cancel his appearances.

Isabella smiled. "That's what I thought. That reminds me. Lucy said she would email me more information…" She pulled out her phone and tapped on her email, bringing up a profile page. A gasp escaped her lips. "Oh, JJ, she's beautiful!"

"Let me see."

She positioned herself so that her back was leaning against JJ's chest, his arms wrapped around her waist as he looked over her shoulder at the screen. The moment he saw the picture of the little girl in pigtails, JJ fell in love, his eyes watering with unshed tears. "That's our daughter, Bella," he whispered, kissing the back of Isabella's head. "Our little Lixue…"

He couldn't wait to bring her home.

They were continuing to look through Lixue's pictures and profile information, talking about all the things they needed to do before their trip, when Isabella suddenly sat back up and turned around to face JJ.

"Oh, I almost forgot about your surprise!" she exclaimed, referring to the text message that had brought him home early from practice in the first place. Normally, he wouldn't have done so without good reason, but it was the off-season, and she had been so insistent that he come home "ASAP!" that he couldn't refuse.

"What is it?" In all the excitement, JJ had forgotten about the surprise as well, although he could hardly imagine a bigger surprise than the amazing news they had just received.

"Wait here."

She left her phone with him and headed to their bedroom. It didn't take long for her to return, hiding something behind her back.

JJ grinned. "Did you buy me a present?" he asked as he sat up and set the phone on the coffee table. "But why? My birthday is in July, and our anniversary isn't for a couple of weeks…"

"Let's just call this an early anniversary present, then."

Smiling, Isabella brought her hand from behind her back, holding out a very familiar white stick. JJ drew in a sharp breath, his eyes widening as he looked up at his wife. He almost didn't dare to hope, but…

"Bella, are you –?"

"Look!"

With shaking fingers, JJ took the pregnancy test from her hand and stared down at the result window. It was faint, but he could clearly see two pink lines. "I-Is this… Is this real?"

Isabella nodded. "I'm pregnant, JJ," she said as JJ brought a hand to his mouth, his eyes again welling up as the realization hit. "God has finally answered our prayers – twice."

Without a word, JJ set the test down next to Isabella's phone, Lixue's photo still displayed on the screen, and stood up to embrace his wife. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he kissed the top of her head, the emotion overwhelming him. For so long, he had feared they would never become parents, that it just wasn't meant to be no matter how much they hoped and prayed. To think that they would be so doubly blessed… Not even winning his Olympic gold could compare to the joy he felt.

"I love you, Bella," he whispered into her hair.

"I love you, too, babe."

DISCLAIMER: "Yuri! On Ice" doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic was written as a treat for Rodinia as part of the 2019 Rare Ships On Ice fanwork exchange.

According to my research, to adopt a child from China, adoptive parents are supposed to be at least thirty years old. JJ and Isabella are only in their mid-twenties in this story, so just pretend this is an AU China where the age requirement is lower. I'm also not sure how Isabella's surprise pregnancy would affect things in the real world, since there's also a requirement that any children from a prospective family be older than three… Let's just assume it's fine, okay?

Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.


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